UAB Professional Athletes

Three Blazers making noise in the majors? Not bad for a mid-August week in Birmingham's favorite sport.

Tyler Tolbert Is Raking in Kansas City

The headliner this week is Royals second baseman Tyler Tolbert, who put together one of the more consistent stretches of hitting among UAB alumni in recent memory. Tolbert went 1-for-his-game Saturday against the Guardians — scoring a run and drawing a walk — to push his average to .306 on the season. That caps a five-game run in which he collected hits in four contests, scored in each of those five games, and climbed from .286 to .306. He went deep into the Blue Jays series (Aug. 25–27) with hits in back-to-back games, then continued the momentum into the Guardians set. At .306, Tolbert is firmly in "legitimate everyday contributor" territory, not just a roster filler holding a spot while someone heals.

Braxton Ashcraft Delivers in San Diego

While Tolbert was handling business at the plate, Braxton Ashcraft was grinding out a quality start for Pittsburgh. On Tuesday against the Padres, the right-hander went six innings, allowing just one earned run on the way to a 2-1 Pirates victory. He struck out two and lowered his ERA to 3.59. It wasn't a highlight-reel performance, but a six-inning, one-run outing on the road against a competitive San Diego lineup is exactly the kind of start a rebuilding Pirates rotation needs from a young arm. Ashcraft is doing his job — keeping Pittsburgh in games and eating innings.

Brewer Hicklen Gets His Shot in Atlanta

The most intriguing development of the week came in Atlanta, where the Braves recalled outfielder Brewer Hicklen from the minors, optioning Jim Jarvis in the corresponding move. Hicklen, who plays center field, appeared in Wednesday's game against the Dodgers and is carrying a .368 average in his big-league opportunities. The Braves triggered the move after Jarvis logged roughly 120 plate appearances of sub-replacement-level production — making Hicklen the fresh option in the outfield mix. Getting recalled to a contending Braves roster in late August, with playoff positioning on the line, is no small thing. Hicklen will need to capitalize fast.

Whitlock Still Breathing in Boston

Rounding out the UAB week: Garrett Whitlock returned to action Saturday for the Red Sox against the Yankees, tossing a clean inning with a strikeout. His ERA sits at 2.00. The Red Sox bullpen has been navigating significant turnover — Whitlock's absence had previously forced Boston to scramble for replacements — so his presence back on the mound, even in a limited role, stabilizes a unit that badly needed it.

Four UAB alumni, four different organizations, all contributing in the same week. The Blazers' fingerprints are scattered across both leagues — and this week, they're pointing upward.

It was a week that UAB fans will want to bookmark. Two Blazers alumni — one swinging a clutch bat in Kansas City, the other dealing on the mound in Pittsburgh — reminded the baseball world that Birmingham produces ballplayers.

Tolbert Walks It Off in Kansas City

Tyler Tolbert turned in the kind of moment highlight reels are made of. With the Royals trailing the Athletics heading into the bottom of the ninth, the UAB-bred second baseman stepped up and delivered a two-run single to cap a come-from-behind 4-3 Kansas City win. Bobby Witt Jr. added an RBI single in the same frame, and Vinnie Pasquantino went 2-for-4 with an RBI double on the night.

The walk-off wasn't a fluke born from a hot streak. Tolbert had already been doing damage all week against Oakland — he logged a hit, a run, and a walk on Wednesday, then drew another free pass on Thursday. Entering the weekend, he was sitting at a .294 batting average, part of what has been a quietly strong season for the 26-year-old. The Royals needed every bit of it in a tight divisional race.

Ashcraft Goes the Distance (Almost) in Pittsburgh

While Tolbert was providing the drama in Kansas City, Braxton Ashcraft was doing the quiet, dominant work that defines an ace's week. The Pirates right-hander went 8.0 innings against the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday, surrendering just one earned run and striking out four. The outing dropped his ERA to 3.68 and improved his record to 12-5 on the season — the kind of line that starts generating award conversation.

Ashcraft, who came into the Tigers matchup with a 3.88 ERA, was facing a Detroit club that entered at 61-64, but Keider Montero (9-7, 3.22 ERA) was no slouch on the other side. An eight-inning, one-run gem against any opponent at this stage of the season is a statement. For a Pittsburgh team hovering around .500 at 61-66, they need Ashcraft to keep pitching like a top-of-rotation arm if they have any designs on a late-season push.

The Bigger Picture

Two UAB alumni. Two performances that moved the needle for their respective franchises in the same week. Tolbert's clutch hit gives Kansas City a boost in what figures to be a competitive AL battle through September. Ashcraft's gem is the kind of outing that keeps Pittsburgh's faint postseason hopes breathing.

It hasn't been a lost week for the other Blazers on big-league rosters either — Graham Ashcraft (Reds), Brewer Hicklen (Braves), Chandler Simpson (Rays), and Garrett Whitlock (Red Sox) are all still active in the league — but this week unambiguously belonged to Tyler Tolbert and Braxton Ashcraft.

Ashcraft Delivers a Masterpiece

Braxton Ashcraft gave UAB fans something to remember Thursday night. The Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander threw a complete-game three-hitter against the Miami Marlins, striking out 10 and allowing just one earned run in a 13-1 rout — the first complete game of his MLB career.

The performance was as dominant as the final score suggests. Ashcraft commanded the zone all night, watching his ERA settle at 3.88 on the season as the Pirates made easy work of a struggling Marlins squad. Rafael Flores provided the offensive muscle with a pair of three-run homers, but the story of the night belonged to the Birmingham-bred righty who went the distance when his team needed a workhorse effort.

For a Pirates rotation that has leaned on its starters, Ashcraft's nine-inning gem was exactly the kind of statement outing that reshapes a pitcher's season narrative.

Whitlock Hits a Roadblock

The week's news wasn't all good out of UAB country. Garrett Whitlock, the Red Sox reliever who had been quietly putting together a strong season (2.05 ERA entering the week), landed on the 15-day injured list Thursday with right elbow inflammation. Boston recalled right-hander Greg Weissert from Triple-A Worcester to fill the roster spot.

Whitlock's final outing before the IL move came Sunday against the Athletics — 1.0 inning, three strikeouts, one earned run — a serviceable appearance that gave no obvious warning signs of what was coming. The Red Sox will be monitoring closely as a pitching staff already under strain absorbs another blow.

Tolbert Quietly Holds His Ground

Further down the wire, Tyler Tolbert continued to be a steady presence in the Kansas City lineup. The Royals second baseman hit .311 as of Thursday, navigating a tough week-long series against the Dodgers with a pair of walks and a hit over three games. Tolbert didn't put up flashy numbers, but he's maintained one of the more quietly impressive batting averages in the AL — a continuation of a breakout that UAB fans have been tracking all season.

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Two UAB arms, two very different August stories. Ashcraft's complete game is the kind of career-defining outing that gets replayed in highlight packages for years; Whitlock's elbow scare is the kind of setback that can define a season for the wrong reasons. The Blazers' MLB footprint remains wide — and this week proved it cuts in every direction.